On August 9-10, 2023, the Thomas J. O’Keefe Institute for Sustainable Supply of Strategic Minerals at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) hosted the third annual workshop on ‘Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals’. The workshop was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was attended by 218 participants. 128 participants attended in-person in the Havener Center on the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla, Missouri, USA. Another 90 participants attended online via Zoom. Fourteen participants (including nine students) received travel support through the NSF grant to attend the conference in Rolla. Additionally, the online participation fee was waived for another six students and early career researchers to attend the workshop virtually.
Out of the 218 participants, 190 stated their sectors of employment during registration showing that 87 participants were from academia (32 students), 62 from the private sector and 41 from government agencies. Four topical sessions were covered:
A. The Critical Mineral Potential of the USA: Evaluation of existing, and exploration for new resources.
B. Mineral Processing and Recycling: Maximizing critical mineral recovery from existing production streams.
C. Critical Mineral Policies: Toward effective and responsible governance.
D. Resource Sustainability: Ethical and environmentally sustainable supply of critical minerals.
Each topical session was composed of two keynote lectures and complemented by oral and poster presentations by the workshop participants. Additionally, a panel discussion with panelists from academia, the private sector and government agencies was held that discussed ‘How to grow the American critical minerals workforce’. The 2023 workshop was followed by a post-workshop field trip to the lead-zinc mining operations of the Doe Run Company in southeast Missouri that was attended by 18 workshop participants from academia (n=10; including 4 students), the private sector (n=4), and government institutions (n=4).
Discussions during the workshop led to the following suggestions to increase the domestic supply of critical minerals:
(i) Research to better understand the geologic critical mineral potential of the USA, including primary reserves/resources, historic mine wastes, and mineral exploration potential.
(ii) Development of novel extraction techniques targeted at the recovery of critical minerals as co-products from existing production streams, mine waste materials, and recyclables.
(iii) Faster and more transparent permitting processes for mining and mineral processing operations.
(iv) A more environmentally sustainable and ethical approach to mining and mineral processing.
(v) Development of a highly skilled critical minerals workforce.
This workshop report provides a detailed summary of the workshop discussions and describes a way forward for this workshop series for 2024 and beyond.
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This content will become publicly available on June 26, 2024
Transdisciplinarity 101: Short-Term Training in Knowledge CoProduction to Face Global Environmental Change
The Belmont Forum and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) organized an online training workshop on transdisciplinary (TD) approaches at the Sustainability, Research, and Innovation Congress (SRI) in 2022. The IAI is an intergovernmental organization that brings together 19 countries from the Americas to support adaptation to the world’s changing environment. The Belmont Forum is a consortium of major funders and international science councils to promote knowledge about sustainability science. The workshop aimed to create a safe environment for participants to share their impressions of and experiences about transdisciplinary research, using the Americas (IAI mandate) as a launching point for TD approaches globally. The workshop consisted of two online sessions: Transdisciplinary Approach 101 and Transdisciplinary Case Studies. The objectives of the current workshop report are: 1) to identify the key takeaways regarding common challenges and opportunities for transdisciplinary practice among workshop participants’ experiences, upon which to base recommendations for best practices, e.g., managing power imbalances, conflicting priorities and timeframes, enhancing communication and consolidating contextual awareness. 2) to offer insights to build better strategies for “train the trainers'' processes around transdisciplinarity, especially in congresses and short-term events, including using an experience-based approach, offering specific tools and increasing the participation of non-academic partners. This report encourages the implementation of other training processes by experienced transdisciplinary researchers, practitioners, and funders, in order to build capacities for collaborative approaches in diverse scientific communities.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2025226
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10440076
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Science Policy & Governance
- Volume:
- 22
- Issue:
- 02
- ISSN:
- 2372-2193
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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